Spinning
by auricvision
Summary: What really is the Equivalent Exchange for a life? Is anything worth it? Al thought there was nothing he wanted more, but he wanted his brother, not this. This person can't be Ed.


**I'm here, so throw a party. I know, I know, you've all been so busy not missing me. Never to fear, I can't let people get away with not missing me for too long. Universal Overlap, I know, I know. I misplaced my notes on it. My... brain notes. Oh dear. Is it any wonder why I have so many problems if I'm misplacing brain notes?**

**Disclaimer: This is just a fanfiction story, not a brain note, sadly for the brain slugs. Which means what you think a disclaimer means. **

Edward curled on the ground and wrapped his hands over his head. The noise was in his eyes and arms and ears and head, and he couldn't get away from it. It was one of the worst feelings he knew, to be surrounded by agony and yet trapped within it. It was worse than the Gate.

He let out a scream, but the tendrils of darkness tightened their grip. He knew no way to escape from this. Everything was dark and black and he was screaming and crying, dying and writhing. It was the end. It had to be. He had never known anything as horrible, and nothing could ever be worse. So it was the end. It was too much.

But if it was the end, that meant there was nothing left. Which meant he could stop being afraid. Ed took a deep breath. There was no need to be terrified when one knew it was the end and there was no escape. The best thing to do was face the end with dignity.

Ed stood up and stared the darkness down. It stared back at him, in the best way darkness knew how.

"I'm not scared of you," Ed said, and it was almost true. If he lived past this, he had reason to be terrified of it, because there was the chance it might kill him, but if this was the end, then he supposed it didn't matter. Even if it was the end, he was still scared of the unknown. Scared of death. But "scared" didn't mean running by this point. Not when it was inevitable.

The darkness stared back at him. Ed braced his feet apart, hoping that it would give him slightly more strength than he already had. When in doubt, just pretend, and it will do enough to get the job done.

The darkness swirled, if true darkness can. Ed got the impression that it was swirling. Perhaps it was some sort of psychic imprint, though that seemed silly. But he was talking to darkness, so he didn't have room to judge now.

"I'm not scared," Ed repeated, shaking. He got an impression of laughing. No, it was more of a deep, dark chuckle. Something evil. Ed shivered.

The darkness seemed to shiver in response. Or maybe it was more of a ripple, a panther before the pounce. Ed couldn't be sure. He tried to hold his ground. Tried to tell himself there was nothing to fear. The darkness chuckled again.

It pounced on Ed. Streaming into his brain, filling him, making him scream and shake. Like when he had been in the Gate, but more painful. The gate had been white and clean, not black and dirty like the mess he found himself in. How had he gotten here? He couldn't remember.

But the darkness was there, filling, consuming, covering his thoughts in sickly black slime. Ed shuddered, wanting to scream again, but it seemed the previous scream had been his last. Now the darkness was in him, filling everything, and it wasn't going to have any rebellion. He wasn't allowed to express his distaste.

"You've dealt with the Truth."

It had been hell, Ed remembered. He had lost limbs and his brother to the Truth. It was hard and long.

"Let me show you the other side. It's time for you to deal with the Lie."

Ed shuddered. If this was the opposite of Truth, he didn't want to think about it. Especially if it had similar powers to Truth.

Suddenly, a strange warmth blossomed in his shoulder and on his thigh. Ed looked to try and see what was going on. Metal morphed into flesh, grey steel twisted and warped into skin. Ed tried to yelp, but Lie held him.

"This is the Lie. The opposite of the Truth." Ed closed his eyes, unable to do anything against the darkness. He felt himself falling. What sort of punishment was this? What hell? He thought Truth was bad, but this seemed worse. He couldn't be in his pain in peace.

Ed opened his eyes and saw light around him. He closed his eyes. His arm hurt. His leg hurt. His head hurt. Everything hurt. He screamed, and this time it came through his lips in a hoarse cry, vibrating off the walls.

He was surprised at there being walls, and yet not. One had to come back into the real world and out of the Gate eventually. Ed wished he was back in the Gate. Things were less confusing there. Things hurt less there.

Sitting on that cold, cement floor, Ed cradled his flesh arm and leg to his chest, wondering how living could hurt so much. Footsteps thumped down the stairs in a panic, having heard the scream. Ed's face morphed into a frown, hateful and furious.

"Brother, are you okay?"

Ed grit his teeth, spitting at Al.

"Go the fuck away. Leave me alone. I don't need you. I hate you."

This was the pain of the Lie. And Edward Elric had never wished so badly to go back to the Truth. But he wasn't about to tell anyone that.

**Well, there's the prologue. More soon. When I find my missing brain notes. I think the brain slugs stole them. Nasty little buggers. I think I'll have to chase them down. If there's a delay in chapters, I'm chasing down brain slugs. **


End file.
